Monday, October 22, 2007

5 more weeks!




November 29th is getting really, really close. We're meeting with a pediatrician tomorrow, and if we like her, we're more or less ready for our daughter to arrive. We've still got a few small things to take care of, but all of the big important stuff is done and we're as ready as we're likely to be. We can't wait.

Tonight we decided to treat ourselves to a night out at one of our favorite places, Luna Park. They do a fun smores dessert with the chocolate and marshmallows melted at the table over candles. They also made Gabrielle a Mojito without the rum - her first cocktail in months!

These photos are as fresh as they come, taken just a few hours ago before we left for dinner. I've got a gorgeous wife, don't you think?

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Baby Shower

A few friends threw me a very sweet shower this past weekend. Here are a few photos - I wish you all could have been there.



Sunday, October 7, 2007

WEEK 32







It’s been a very busy couple of weeks for both of us.

Yesterday while the Blue Angels were doing their thing in a perfect blue sky over San Francisco, we were in a big room attending a full-day birthing class called The McMoyler Method. It’s the first year we’ve missed the air show, but the class was fantastic. It was informative, highly entertaining at times, and really helped us both put some context around all of the various bits of information we have learned to date. The week after next we are taking a two-day class focused on what happens once the baby comes home. Gabrielle is already very comfortable caring for infants, while James is thinking that as much as he may want to avoid it, he might finally be shown how to change a diaper.

Today was another baby-centric day. After James made his girls breakfast, we met Alina Carolyn Noyes for the first time. Alina is the 3-week old daughter of Meredith & Roger, two close friends of ours. From there we went straight to the baby store where we bought a crib mattress, car seat, diaper pail, baby monitor, baby bathing thingamajig, and a couple of other things. Once home, James inspected everything and laid it out to air, and then set out to clean the changing table we got from our friends Brett & Jane along with our crib.




With the weekend we had, it is now very, very real: we are having a baby. Soon.

Gabrielle is doing well, and as usual our last doctor’s appointment was uneventful. She’s gaining exactly the right amount of weight, her belly is the exact size it is supposed to be, and baby & mom seem healthy as can be. Baby is learning some new dance moves and practices them often – whenever she’s not doing Judo drills or practicing acrobatics. She is one lively baby, and she seems impatient to enter the world. We’re getting more and more eager to meet her too, so we’ve at least got that in common.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

The stroller arrived!

This is how we now spend our Friday nights. Notice the glass of Scotch that appears by the 2nd picture! The crib arrives tonight, I better buy more Scotch...






Saturday, September 8, 2007

WEEK 28

A few belly shots. The baby continues to be extremely active, I am sure she is practicing some sort of dance routine in there.


Monday, September 3, 2007

Ahhhhhh, Swenson's Ice Cream. A neighborhood favorite for a certain pregnant woman.
WEEK 27
Our visit to Michigan

James, sister Christine and baby Julian



Vinne and Auntie Elle


Cristian and Uncle James

It's been a while since we posted; we had a busy August! We spent 10 days in Michigan where we visited with a lot of family. In 10 short days we saw my parents, James' parents, our sisters and their families, my uncle Noah, aunt Andra and couins Sophia and Julia who were returning from Camp Michigiania, my uncle Tom and aunt Sue who came up from Baltimore along with my cousin Natalie, my grandparents, Grandpa Powell and family and James' grandfather who lives in Sault Ste Marie, Canada. Phew! The bad news...we were camera lazy and didn't get many pictures, it just all passed so quickly. The visit ended with a baby shower thrown by Grandma June, my mom and my sister. It was wonderful to celebrate with our family and friends.

Before we left for Michigan, James painted the baby room a beautiful blue (I went to Vegas to meet my friend Kelly - sounds fair, right?). Now we are shopping for a crib and changing table/dresser and will post pictures once the room is completed. I am feeling good and growing quite a bit. The baby is moving like crazy and now has hiccups every day! At our latest doctor appointment everything was exactly as it should be and baby’s heartbeat was healthy and strong.